Graduation Joy

High School Graduation Joy, originally uploaded by danette5.

Well,

Nothing really deep or profound. In about 10 hours, I will graduate from the U of I. Four and a half years of my life, built up to this moment. It is pretty exciting, and yet, pretty surreal. It doesn't have the same feel of high school graduation when the big kids get their free days and goof off time to 'practice' the ceremony. Nor is the weather warming to a glorious summer. Instead, we finish exams, and head off to our smaller ceremony in the dead of winter.

Thank you to all who have been instrumental in me getting to this point. Whether it be emotional, financial, or spiritual support, I truly appreciate what you have given to me. It has been a true blessing to be a classmate, friend, and family member of yours.

I look forward to the coming years, finally realizing that the calendar does in fact go past 2008. I wish you all the best in your endeavors and I truly hope that God moves in your lives as you move on to the adult stage of life. Those of you who are already there, welcome us with open arms; we're still pretty much kids. :)

Rod on SNL

We made it onto SNL for our fantastic politics.  Yippee!!

5-9, 9-5

Green Bay is officially eliminated from the NFL playoffs this season, and the Jets are still in contention.  Not that one man makes a huge difference on just the field, but lets just say, once again, I feel vindicated.

5-9 Packers and 9-5 Jets

These Hands

Companion (pt. 1)

This semester, as you might know, I was in a photo class.  The course, ARTS 260, at the University of Illinois, is the introductory photography class.  The first half of the semester involved learning basic techniques, styles, and how to shoot.  We turned in a midterm project based upon four major themes (light and shadow, perspective, depth of field, and motion).  Then the second half of the semester started, in which we were to create our own project with a theme.  This project was to be 10 shots that fit into this theme.

Months ago, while in the shower, thinking about my day, the idea came to me that I needed to tell The Gospel with these pictures.  In some way, th

is story, however I could do it, needed to be told, again and again.  As I thought and prayed, it felt more and more compelling to tell the Gospel story from this perspective of photography and art.  As well, it felt more and more necessary to tell them in a contemporary style.  I couldn't just reshoot in photo form the paintings of the Renaissance.

As the project came about and started to develop, the idea was presented to me to use part of the body to tell these stories.  This started with a great night of drawing the Parable of the Four Seeds on the skin of my friends.  It slowly evolved from this into me telling stories from the four Gospel books with the hands.  Gone was the seeds parable and in was the Good Samaritan.  Gone was using marker for drawing and in was using it to write Hebrew on the body.

I told five stories with these images and I'm still working on how exactly I would present them, but what I do know is that I now have told five tales with these images.  Each pair of images with the same name tells a story.  There is writing on Hebrew on the skin, and in the title of the photos is the meaning of the word.  I hope that this project may stimulate you, regardless of your lifestyle, beliefs, gender, color, or love/hate of art.  This project is dear and close to me, and I hope that you are able to see the effort I put into it, trying to create these situations and communicate as effectively as I can with just two images per story.

Companion (pt. 2)

Here is the flickr link to the art project "These Hands"

So Listen...

Remember how I told you to like, write Governor Blagojevich about the State Parks and Historical Sites? I told you that he really needed to change his mind on closing these fine facilities...

I'm thinking he might have be preoccupied for a while...

I wonder if after all of this dust settles, we can get our facilities back? Cuz there is corruption laden throughout that budget. I'm sure of it...

Finally, this situation totally reminds me of this...

The Greatest Empirical Evidence of All TIme

I was walking early this afternoon with my friend Scott from a restaurant on Green Street to the Illini Union.  While we were walking, we were talking and the remark that girls are loud when put together came up.  Basically, I was saying that when you get girls together, they are always loud.  No sooner was this said than a car with Lauren, Erin, and Suzie in it rolled by with them screaming out the window at us.  Fantastic.  I do not lie...

Sunset at the Springs

Sunset at the Springs, originally uploaded by | Orthogonal Photography |.

Weldon Springs State Recreation Area outside of Clinton, Illinois closed at 2 PM on November 30 as part of a larger plan of Governor Rod Blagojevich's plan to balance the budget. Here is a list of the closed facilities...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/08/28/news/doc48b6ead84f1b8189593039.txt

This is basically the last photo I took of the park, and the sunset to me is somehow appropriate.

Finally, if you feel like there is a problem with this closing, and the others, (perhaps you feel like Rod's flights to and from Springfield and Chicago could be reduced to fund a park instead) write him a letter here...

www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm